{"id":28301,"date":"2024-04-09T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-09T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/new-state-office-would-be-barrier-breaking-hub-for-coloradans-with-disabilities\/"},"modified":"2024-04-09T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-09T12:00:00","slug":"new-state-office-would-be-barrier-breaking-hub-for-coloradans-with-disabilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/new-state-office-would-be-barrier-breaking-hub-for-coloradans-with-disabilities\/","title":{"rendered":"New state office would be barrier-breaking hub for Coloradans with disabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Democratic
Democratic state Rep. and Afghanistan War veteran David Ortiz, already the first House member to use a wheelchair, made history in March 2022 when he presided over the House. (Hart Van Denburg\/CPR News)<\/span>Hart Van Denburg\/CPR News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

As he faces the last eight months of his time as a Colorado lawmaker, Rep. David Ortiz is looking to ensure the continuation of disability rights advocacy when he is no longer in the Capitol.<\/p>\n

\u201cDisability rights aren\u2019t on everyone\u2019s radar because they don\u2019t live that way, or they don\u2019t have someone that they love or know live that way. And so the world continues to be inaccessible in a real detrimental way,\u201d the Littleton Democrat told Colorado Newsline.<\/p>\n

Ortiz, who was first elected in 2020, is the first Colorado lawmaker to use a wheelchair. During his time in the Capitol, he has championed legislation to strengthen state discrimination laws for people with disabilities, allow people the right to repair their own wheelchairs and require insurance to cover prosthetics for recreation, among many other bills related to disability and accessibility issues.<\/p>\n

He consistently brings access-related amendments to other legislation, reminding lawmakers to consider every potential law through an accessibility lens.<\/p>\n

Now, as he prepares to leave the chamber \u2013 he decided not to seek a third term \u2013 he wants a permanent presence in state government to weigh in on these topics.<\/p>\n

\u201c (Most people) don\u2019t understand the barriers that we have to live with and that we have to navigate, and it\u2019s past time to get rid of them. This office is going to be a focal point, or a hub, to making sure that we\u2019re coordinating efforts to do that,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not tied to any one administration or any one legislator. This is something that is going to continue in perpetuity, hopefully.\u201d<\/p>\n

House Bill 24-1360, which Ortiz is sponsoring, would establish the Colorado Disability Opportunity Office within the Department of Labor and Employment to serve as a wide-ranging resource around disability issues in the state, from helping people obtain benefits to submitting policy recommendations to the governor.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the office would be tasked with envisioning and implementing a statewide strategy to promote economic stability and social integration for people with disabilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is, as this office is built out and grows to what it has been envisioned in the legislation, that the office is equipped with the tools, the time and the knowledge to really convene effective and deep stakeholder meetings on the variety of topics that impact people with disabilities across all of the government agencies,\u201d said Jack Johnson, the public policy liaison at Disability Law Colorado, a nonprofit that specializes in civil rights and discrimination cases.<\/p>\n

There are times, Johnson said, that the disability community is included in conversations only after a bill is introduced or when there is a major budget adjustment, rather than being a participant from the start. That can result in a lot of defensive, reactionary policy work.<\/p>\n

\u2018Paradigm of opportunity\u2019<\/div>\n

The bill outlines an ambitious, wide directive for an office. Supporters think of it as a clearinghouse for the current, sometimes overlapping, efforts on disability issues in the state. The office would absorb, for example, the \u200b\u200bColorado Disability Funding Committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe identified many, many years ago that there was a need for a coordinated disability response, because disability touches so many of the different state agencies,\u201d said Julie Reiskin, the co-executive director of the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, an advocacy group for disability rights.<\/p>\n

That coordination would affect how people with disabilities interact with the state \u2013 right now, Reiskin said there is often confusion about where to go for certain questions, such as with benefit assistance \u2013 but it could also streamline the many disability-related commissions, task forces and other advisory bodies in the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need people with disabilities and with a disability lens inside the government. You can\u2019t expect a bunch of state agency directors to understand our community and know our issues, as much as they have great intentions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ortiz thinks the office would be instrumental in shifting how Coloradans think about people with disabilities \u2013 from a \u201cparadigm of poverty\u201d to a \u201cparadigm of opportunity.\u201d That means clearing the path for people with disabilities to earn a livable wage at a fulfilling job, have stable housing and use public transportation without barriers. It also means opening up Colorado\u2019s recreation and outdoor culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at being able to tap into the opportunities that able-bodied Coloradans take for granted and already get to enjoy it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

CDOO would be funded with money from the Disability Support cash fund, not the general fund. That could be crucial as lawmakers, who only have about $20 million for new programs this year, consider bills with high price tags over the next months.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe deserve that general fund money. But because we have to fight tooth and nail for every piece of disability rights legislation that has a fiscal note, I\u2019m glad we can bypass that by making sure we\u2019re self-funded,\u201d Ortiz said.<\/p>\n

The cash fund is supported by fees from historic license plates: the all black, blue or red plates with white lettering, or the reverse of the current standard green-and-white plate called \u201cGreenie\u201d that have become increasingly popular on Colorado roads. To date, the fund has raised about $6.4 million, according to the governor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

Lieutenant governor\u2019s support<\/div>\n

The creation of CDOO has been a long time coming, Reiskin said. Cuts to disability programming during the Great Recession made the need more salient to the disability advocacy community, but even as task forces and commissions formed, there was always a funding issue. The license plate funding mechanism is key to starting the office, as is the presence of Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera, who bill supporters say has been a champion for accessibility issues.<\/p>\n

Primavera added a senior policy adviser on disability issues to her team in 2020. She also moved the Disability Funding Committee to her office, and since then revenue has grown from $100,000 in 10 years to $500,000 on a monthly basis, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis office is intended to help support the incredible work of the agencies through collaboration and coordination, not alter or remove their authority. It will also support agencies as they work towards shared goals of prosperity and independence of Coloradans with disabilities,\u201d she said during the bill\u2019s first committee hearing last month. \u201cHB-1360 will ensure pro-disability policy efforts continue long into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

HB-1360 passed unanimously out of the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee. It needs to be signed off by the House Finance Committee before being considered by the entire chamber. It is also sponsored by Rep. Chad Clifford, a Centennial Democrat, in the House. It does not yet have a Senate sponsor.<\/p>\n

The legislative session ends May 8.<\/p>\n

To read more stories from Colorado Newsline, visit www.coloradonewsline.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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